Monthly Archives: January 2016

The first two weeks of December saw that most important climate talks in years. From these talks, called COP21, have come the most concrete plan on how to mitigate global warming and its effects to date. Each country involved is now creating an individual plan of what this will look like. Starting in 2018 these plans will be revised every five years. The international goal is to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius, with a more ambitious side goal of staying below 1.5 degrees of warming. To achieve this already developed nations are pledging to contribute funds to developing nations so that they may grow their alternative energy economies.

The steps taken during COP21 may be a turning point for the environmental movement. No longer are global warming and climate change being portrayed as fringe issues. They now exist within the public consciousness in large way, something that was vividly apparent throughout the talks in Paris. Along with the politicians, activists and everyday citizens flocked to the city to make their voices heard. Among them where a number of artists who used a diverse array of methods to increase the dialogue around these issues.

One of the most remarkable art installations at COP21 was by Danish artist Olafur Eliasson. He shipped twelve massive pieces of Greenland ice and arranged them in a shape of a clock in front of the Pantheon. The installation, titled Ice Watch, was then left to melt. The symbolism here is very clear: our planet is running out of time and action must be taken now.

Public art also served as an alternative to protests, which following the terrorist attacks on November 13th had been outlawed throughout the entire conference. French artist JR and American filmmaker Darren Aronofsky collaborated on a projection piece they call The Standing March. Showing the image of over 500 people, the purpose of this piece is to show that the world stands in solidarity on the need to care for our environment.

About 200,000 activists had planned to march on November 29th to further cement this idea. With strict rules on mass assemblies in place though, the protesters opted for a second best. That morning 20,000 pairs of shoes were placed in the Place de la Republique. Since the people could not walk, they let their shoes stand in their place.

While leaders of 196 nations were discussing key policies in Paris to save earth from global warming, death toll continued to rise at various places because of natural cataclysm.

Rising temperatures are affecting our life on a daily basis. It affects our food, our surroundings, and all the work we do. Most cities in the world are experiencing a much warmer winter this year. Toronto celebrated the warmest Christmas Eve recorded in the last 175 years. Today climate change is like a ticking time bomb; the greatest threat people all over the world face.

In recognition of the growing problems of climate change, over 40,000 people gathered in Paris from November 30th to December 11th to take some corrective actions. The main objective of this conference was to achieve a binding and universal agreement on climate, with the aim of keeping global warming below 2°C.

After two weeks of negotiations, the Paris climate change agreement was signed. To make this agreement successful all nations volunteered to make cuts in their carbon emission to relatively safe level of 2C degree with an aspiration of 1.5C and also to participate in a program of regular assessment and adjustment every five years starting 2020. Leaders made bold promises to save the earth from climate change.

This was the biggest gathering of world’s leaders, who came together for a single purpose. It was a historic moment for all the countries. Developed nations pledged not only their commitment but promised to provide help to developing and poor nations to cut down their emissions.

We all hope this summit will provide a good platform to come together to make our resources more sustainable. But given the gravity of the situation, it is high time we join in this effort and take a pledge to start bringing changes from our home. Each individual needs to look at their contribution to climate footprint and if needed, modify some of their lifestyle choices. That’s what Paris is all about, changing our lifestyle, before it leads us towards complete disaster. It calls for a an acknowledgement and action at all levels.

Footnote –

The key measures in the agreement included:

To peak greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible and achieve a balance between sources and sinks of greenhouse gases in the second half of this century

To keep global temperature increase “well below” 2C (3.6F) and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5C

To review progress every five years

$100 billion a year in climate finance for developing countries by 2020, with a commitment to further finance in the future.